JoJo Siwa reflects on ‘losing a lot’ after coming out at 17: ‘There was negativity’
"I didn't understand at the time what a big deal that was," she said
JoJo Siwa has opened up on the mixed reaction she received after sharing her sexuality with the world at the age of 17.
The former Dance Mums star spoke of the experience on her newly-released podcast, JoJo Siwa Now.
She said: “I came out when I was 17 but I didn’t understand at the time what a big deal that was. I didn’t understand why that was scary.”
Delving into the moment she decided to come out publicly, Siwa continued: “I remember I was on the phone with my girlfriend at the time. I was like, ‘I think I want to come out to the world,’ and she was like, ‘OK, do it.'”
“I just try to really, really be genuine, really be who I am” – JoJo Siwa
“So then I posted this picture and threw it on my Instagram Story, and that’s how I confirmed it.”
Back in 2020, she uploaded a picture of herself in a t-shirt bearing the words: “Best. Gay. Cousin. Ever.”
While Siwa got “a lot of positivity and love” from her followers, she did get met with “a lot of negativity” too.
“I did lose a lot,” she said of the experience. “I didn’t care, and I still don’t care [about] the things I lost and the people that I lost and if I lost a chunk of fans…because it’s who I am.”
She added: “I created my career off of being genuine. If you didn’t like me because on January whatever I was straight and January the next day I was gay, then you’re not meant to like me anyways. I just try to really, really be genuine, really be who I am.”
Fans have seen Siwa continue to live her authentic self in the public eye in the years to have followed.
She was cast on Dancing With The Stars as part of the US show’s first-ever same-sex couple in 2021.
Siwa called the moment a “massive life-changer,” coming just months after she herself came out.
Appearing alongside professional dancer Jenna Johnson, the pair made it all the way to the final and placed 2nd.